The present invention generally relates to firearms, and more particularly to safety mechanisms for striker-fired firearms.
Firearms such as semi-automatic pistols generally include a frame, a barrel that defines a chamber for holding a cartridge, a reciprocating slide that defines a breech face on the front for engaging the rear of the chamber; and a spring-loaded axially-movable firing pin disposed in the slide that contacts the cartridge to discharge the pistol. When the pistol is discharged, the slide recoils rearward with respect to the frame and then returns forward to open and close the action. There are various design approaches to firing control mechanisms for striking the cartridge with the firing pin.
One type of firearm has a firing control mechanism that cocks and releases a hammer via a trigger pull to strike the firing pin. The firing pin is driven forward by the hammer and contacts the cartridge. Another type of firearm commonly referred to as “striker-fired” has a firing control mechanism that eliminates the hammer and operates by directly cocking and releasing the firing pin, which is also referred to as a “striker” in these type mechanisms. In contrast to firing control mechanisms having hammers which may have an external spur for manual cocking, the striker is completely internal to the firearm. A firing control mechanism for a striker-fired pistol generally includes a trigger, a movable trigger bar actuated by the trigger, a striker-type striker having a protrusion for operably cocking and holding the striker in a ready-to-fire position; a striker biasing spring; and a striker cocking/release mechanism. The cocking/release mechanism typically includes a striker catch that engages the striker protrusion to cock and hold the striker in a ready-to-fire cocked position, and then disengages the protrusion via a trigger pull to release the striker and discharge the pistol. United States Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0248772 shows one design for a striker catch in the form of a sear that is actuated by the trigger and is engageable with the striker protrusion for cocking and releasing the striker. Additional components such as a sear, however, add to the complexity and cost of the firing mechanism for a striker-fired firearm. Other striker cocking mechanisms may utilize different types of striker catches or similar mechanisms for cocking, holding, and releasing the striker.
Regardless of the type of striker catch or similar mechanism utilized, the striker catch is typically positioned in the forward path of and in relative longitudinal axial alignment with the striker protrusion to catch the striker upon the forward return movement of the slide (with striker therein) after discharging the firearm. The striker is held in the cocked position by the catch, and remains ready for the next trigger pull which disengages the striker catch from the protrusion to discharge the firearm. In order to field strip the firearm for maintenance, however, the slide in some designs must be slid forward on the frame past the striker catch in order to be removed. Accordingly, it is necessary to displace the striker catch by some means so that the striker protrusion can clear the catch to allow removal of the slide from the firearm frame. An improved and mechanically simple firing control and slide removal mechanism is therefore desired.
According to another aspect of striker-fired firearm design, it is desirable to have a lockable manual safety mechanism to disable the firing control mechanism. An improved and mechanically simple lockable manual safety mechanism is therefore also desired.
According to another aspect of general firearm design, pistol and accessory manufacturers have recognized that a single pistol grip size may not fit all users' hands. Several approaches have been used to address this situation. One approach employed by some accessory manufacturers is to provide complete replacement grips of varying sizes. Another approach taken by some firearm manufacturers is to provide a set of user-replaceable backstraps of differing sizes that the user can swap out typically with simple tools such as a punch. The backstraps alter the depth of the grip to fit the size preferences of a particular user. The backstraps sets, however, have drawbacks. Since the extra backstraps are not a permanent part of the pistol, they are cumbersome to carry and may easily be misplaced, lost, or not carried into the field with the user. In the event that the user desires to change the size of the grip (e.g., to accommodate more than one shooter with different grip size preferences on a given occasion), the extra backstraps may thus simply not be available. Accordingly, an improved and convenient backstrap system for altering the size and type of grip is also desirable.